FIG. 181.
—COLONNADE OF LOUVRE.
OTHER BUILDINGS. To Louis XIV. is also due the vast but uninteresting Hôtel des Invalides or veteran’s asylum, at Paris, by J. H. Mansart. To the chapel of this institution was added, in 1680–1706, the celebrated Dome of the Invalides, a masterpiece by the same architect. In plan it somewhat resembles Bramante’s scheme for St. Peter’s—a Greek cross with domical chapels in the four angles and a dome over the centre. The exterior (Fig. 182), with the lofty gilded dome on a high drum adorned with engaged columns, is somewhat high for its breadth, but is a harmonious and impressive design; and the interior, if somewhat cold, is elegant and well proportioned. The chief innovation in the design was the wide separation of the interior stone dome from the lofty exterior decorative cupola and lantern of wood, this separation being designed to meet the conflicting demands of internal and external effect. To the same architect is due the formal monotony of the Place Vendôme, all the houses surrounding it being treated with a uniform architecture of colossal pilasters, at once monumental and inappropriate. One of the most pleasing designs of the time is the Château de Maisons (1658), by F. Mansart, uncle of J. H. Mansart. In this the proportions of the central and terminal pavilions, the mass and lines of the steep roof à la Mansarde, the simple and effective use of the orders, and the refinement of all the details impart a grace of aspect rare in contemporary works. The same qualities appear also in the Val-de-Grâce, by F. Mansart and Lemercier, a domical church of excellent proportions begun under Louis XIII. The want of space forbids mention of other buildings of this period.
FIG. 182.—DOME OF THE INVALIDES.
THE DECLINE. Under Louis XV. the pedantry of the classic period gave place to a protracted struggle between license and the severest classical correctness. The exterior designs of this time were often even more uninteresting and bare than under Louis XIV.; while, on the other hand, interior decoration tended to the extreme of extravagance and disregard of constructive propriety. Contorted lines and crowded scrolls, shells, and palm-leaves adorned the mantelpieces, cornices, and ceilings, to the almost complete suppression of straight lines.